Grinding or polishing device for comprising a support with renewable adherence surface

ABSTRACT

A device for sanding or polishing including a support which can be driven in motion having a first end surface against which can be positioned a sanding or polishing film having an interior surface shaped and sized to be positioned against the first end surface and an exterior sanding or polishing surface; and a film holder comprising a layer positioned against the first end surface and enabling renewable adherence by cleaning the layer.

The present invention pertains to the field of sanding or polishing.

The present invention pertains more particularly to a sanding or polishing device of the type comprising a support that can be driven in motion, presenting a first end surface against which can be positioned a sanding or polishing film presenting an interior surface intended to be positioned against said first end surface of said support and an exterior sanding or polishing surface, said device comprising means for holding said sheet.

This holding means enable retention of the film during sanding and polishing and also make it possible to replace the film with another film when the first film is worn out.

Already known in the prior art are sanding or polishing devices comprising a support and means for holding the sanding or polishing film.

It is known, for example, to make electric vibrating sanding machines presenting flexible pins that can maintain by pressing the ends of the sanding or polishing film by exerting pressure on the film outside of the sanding or polishing surface.

A drawback of this type of attachment is that it is difficult to handle these flexible pins without damaging the sanding or polishing film. Moreover, the ends of the film which serve to lock the film against the first end surface of the support cannot be used for sanding or polishing. Finally, if the sanding or polishing film is essentially affixed on the support of the device, it is not maintained flattened against the first end surface of the support which leads to a noteworthy loss of efficacy during sanding or polishing.

Also known in the prior art, for example, are the European patent applications no. EP 868 261, EP 886 557 and EP 729 807, as well as German patent application no. DE 42 41 890. Each of these documents presents a sanding or polishing device of the type comprising a support that can be driven in motion presenting an end surface against which can be positioned a sanding or polishing film presenting an interior surface intended to be positioned against said end surface of said support and an exterior sanding or polishing surface, said device comprising means for holding said film. These holding means are constituted by an adhesive layer provided on the interior surface of the sanding film. This adhesive layer enables detachment of the worn out sanding film and its replacement when it is worn out.

It has also been proposed in the prior art to create hooks of thread on the first end surface of the support and to create loops of thread on the interior surface of the polishing or sanding film, the adherence between the first end surface and the interior surface being thereby implemented via the principle of Velcro™ self-fastening tapes.

Although it does not result in the loss of unused material at the ends of the films, this attachment method presents the major drawback of increasing in a noteworthy manner the cost of the sanding or polishing film. Moreover, the adherence realized in this manner does not always present the required reliability. The film does not adhere perfectly against the first end surface of the support and presents a certain amount of play in relation to the support when the support is driven in motion. Furthermore, although this method makes it possible to maintain the interior surface of the film essentially flattened against the first end surface of the support, the interface of the hooks and loops creates upon passage of the film over a crest or ridge of material to be sanded or polished a localized break down of the polishing or sanding film which diminishes the efficacy of the film and leads to its premature wearing out.

Also known in the prior art is French patent application no. FR 2 755 445. This document pertains to a repositionable multilayer adhesive article comprising a polyurethane adhesive layer. Because of this layer, the article can be positioned at a location, then removed and positioned at the same location or at another location.

It could be imagined to use such an adhesive layer on the interior surface of a sanding or polishing film, but this would considerably increase the cost of the sanding or polishing film.

The present invention intends to resolve the drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a device that makes it possible to not provide any particular adhesion means on the interior surface of the sanding or polishing film, that does not lead to a loss of material of the film and that enables perfect adherence of the film against the first end surface of the support, attaining all of these goals while obviously enabling replacement of a film by another film when this is necessary.

In order to achieve this, the present invention is of the type described above and it is remarkable in its broadest sense in that said holding means are constituted by a surface positioned against a first end surface and enabling a renewable adherence by cleaning of said renewable adherence layer.

Said support preferably furthermore comprises means for attachment of an edge of said film in order to enable creation of at least one sanding or polishing leading edge when said support is driven in motion.

In a variant of the invention, said surface with renewable adherence is preferably constituted by a layer of reactivatable glue.

Said reactivatable glue layer is preferably of the water-activatable vinyl glue type.

In another variant of the invention, said surface with renewable adherence is preferably constituted by a layer of adherent polymer.

Said adherent polymer layer is preferably based essentially on polyurethane such as is known from French patent application no. FR 2 755 445 incorporated herein by reference.

The adherence is thus renewable by simple cleaning of the polymer layer with water.

In another variant of the invention compatible with the preceding variants, said support is made of a manually deformable material.

This manually deformable material is, for example, a mesh constituted by metal wires.

The device according to the invention preferably comprises a second end surface opposite said first end surface.

In a variant, said second end surface comprises a layer enabling renewable adherence by cleaning of said renewable adherence layer.

In another important variant of the invention, the device constitutes an accessory enabling adaptation of the principle of renewable adherence by cleaning according to the invention to a sanding or polishing machine presenting a baseplate presenting on its end surface at least one band of loop material or hook material of the Velcro type. In this variant, said second end surface comprises at least one band of loop material or hook material of the Velcro type in order to thereby enable the attachment of the sanding film on said device and the attachment of said device on the baseplate of the sanding or polishing machine.

In this important variant of the invention, said second end surface preferably comprises on the totality of its surface a loop material or a hook material.

The present invention also pertains to a sanding machine and notably to an electric sanding machine, as well as to a polishing machine and notably an electric polishing machine comprising a device according to the invention.

The present invention also pertains to a method for the use of the device of the invention in which there is attached the interior surface of the sanding or polishing film against the layer of the first end surface of the support by renewable adherence by cleaning of said renewable adherence layer.

According to this method, when the device constitutes an accessory enabling adaptation of the renewable adherence principle by cleaning according to the invention to a sanding or polishing machine presenting a baseplate presenting on its end surface at least one band of loop material or hook material of the Velcro type, the band of the second end surface of the support is affixed against the complementary band of the end surface of the baseplate.

The major advantage provided by the present invention is that the sanding or polishing film does not present any particular means for facilitating its adherence against the support; this means that no supplementary costs are generated during the manufacture of this film.

By means of the renewable surface according to the invention, it is advantageously very easy to position a sanding or polishing film against the first end surface of the support. The sanding or polishing film is perfectly maintained against the first end surface of the support when the device is subjected to rotational or translational motion. The sanding or polishing film is also very easy to remove and to replace with another sanding or polishing film when the first film is worn out or when it is desired to replace it. The renewable adherence makes it possible to obtain a new identical adherence whenever it is required.

Because the adherence is renewable, possible deposits of material or dust on the first end surface of the support can be removed prior to the first use or upon renewal of the adherence by simple cleaning of the renewable adherence layer.

No material is added to this layer during renewal of the adherence and the device assembly preserves its characteristics of transmission of the sanding or polishing motion to the sanding or polishing film.

Better comprehension of the invention will be obtained from the description below presented for purely explanatory purposes of a mode of implementation of the invention with reference to the attached figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a base version of the device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates in perspective a version of the device according to the invention with a circular support;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a version of the device according to the invention with an optional holding element;

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate in perspective a variant of the device according to the invention with a cylindrical support;

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the deformation of the support according to the invention as a function of the configuration of the element to be sanded;

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the variant of implementation in which the device constitutes an accessory enabling adaptation of the principle of renewable adherence by cleaning according to the invention to a sanding or polishing machine presenting a baseplate presenting on its inferior surface a band of loop material or hook material of the Velcro type; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a version of the device according to the invention with two opposite end surfaces each presenting a layer of renewable adherence.

The device (1) according to the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 is a sanding or polishing device of the type comprising a support (2) or baseplate that can be driven in motion by manual actuation or mechanical actuation.

For its manual actuation, the support (2) can be equipped with a handle and for its mechanical actuation it can be equipped with attachment means enabling attachment to a system of connecting rods driven by a motor, such as, e.g., an electric motor. The support (2) can thus constitute the baseplate of a sanding machine driven by an electric motor or a polishing machine driven by an electric motor.

The support (2) presents a first end surface (3) against which can be positioned a sanding or polishing film (4) or band presenting an interior surface (5) intended to be positioned against said first end surface (3) of said support (2) and an exterior sanding or polishing surface (6).

Said device (1) furthermore comprises means for holding said film (4).

The support (2) constituting in the base version of the invention the baseplate of the sanding or polishing machine can present an upright brick-like form as illustrated in FIG. 1 or the form of a circular disk as illustrated in FIG. 2 or the form of an upright or non-upright cylinder as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The device (1) according to the invention is characterized in that said holding means are constituted by a layer (7) positioned against the first end surface (3) and enabling a renewable adherence by cleaning of said renewable adherence layer (7).

Said support (2) furthermore comprises means (8) for the attachment of an edge of said film in order to enable creation of at least one leading edge (9) of sanding or polishing when said support (2) is driven in motion M as illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

These attachment means (8) can be constituted, for example, by a slot in which it is possible to slide the edge of the film (4).

In fact, under certain circumstances, notably when the surface to be sanded or polished presents a noteworthy roughness, it is possible that the edge of the film (4) becomes detached from the layer (7).

In a first variant of the invention, said layer (7) with renewable adherence is constituted by a layer of reactivatable glue.

This reactivatable glue layer can be comprised of water-activatable vinyl glue; the reactivation of the binding layer moreover makes it possible when required to carry out a cleaning of the renewable adherence surface.

In a second variant of the invention, said renewable adherence layer (7) is constituted by a layer of adherent polymer.

Said adherent polymer layer can be based essentially on polyurethane.

A material of this type presents an adherence which can be renewed by cleaning the surface with water. This operation moreover makes it possible when required to carry out a cleaning of the renewable adherence surface.

Said support (2) can be made of a manually deformable material for all of these variants. This material can be, for example, an aluminum alloy. This material can also be a mesh constituted by metal wire. It can even be imagined that the mesh could be constituted by wires of different sizes in the warp and the woof so as to be more easily deformable along certain regular surfaces.

It is then possible to configure the support (2) in a manner such that it presents exactly the desired form. FIG. 6 thus illustrates the case in which the support (2) is configured manually in a manner such as to present along its longitudinal profile the exact form of approximately the left half of a ramp (10) of a stairway as illustrated by the arrow F.

Once the support (10) presents the desired form, it is sufficient to renew the adherence and to position the sanding film. The sanding of the ramp (10) is much easier to perform with a device (1) comprising a support (2) that can be configured as desired than with a device (1) comprising a support (2) that is completely rigid and cannot be configured.

The material of the support (2) is preferably selected so as to enable as much reconfiguration as desired.

It is also possible to imagine that the support (2) possesses a high degree of flexibility and is presented in the form of a carpet.

In an important variant illustrated in FIG. 7 the device (1) constitutes an accessory enabling adaptation of the principle of renewable adherence by cleaning according to the invention to a sanding or polishing machine presenting a baseplate (20) presenting on an end surface (23) at least one band of material with loops (1) and at least one band of material with hooks (17) of the Velcro type. The end surface (23) can comprise on the totality of its surface a loop material (15) or a hook material (17). In the version illustrated in FIG. 7, the end surface (23) comprises on the totality of its surface a hook material (17).

In this variant, the device (1) comprises a second end surface (13) opposite to said first end surface (3), said second end surface (13) comprising at least one band of loop material (15) or at least one band of hook material (17) of the Velcro type, this band being designed to cooperate with the complementary band of the baseplate (2).

In the version illustrated in FIG. 7, said second end surface (13) comprises on the totality of its surface a loop material (15).

In another important variant illustrated in FIG. 8, the device (1) also has a second end surface (13) opposite said first end surface (3) but in this variant said second end surface (13) comprises a layer (7′) enabling renewable adherence by cleaning of said renewable adherence layer in order to facilitate manual handling. Thus, it is not necessary to provide on the support (2) means such as straps, flanges or pins in order to allow the support (2) to be firmly grasped with the hands; it is sufficient to bring the hands into contact with the layer (7′) when this layer is clean in order for the support (2) to adhere to the hands.

For the first use of the device according to the invention, if the layer (7) of the support (2) is clean, it is sufficient to bring the interior surface (5) of the film opposite the first end surface (3) and to press this interior surface (5) against the layer (7) of the first end surface (3). The first adherence is thereby obtained by simple pressure.

However, if the layer (7) of the support (2) is not clean, the adherence of the film (4) will be poorly maintained or not maintained at all. In order to implement adherence of the layer (7), it is sufficient to clean it with water. After drying of the layer (7) it presents a new adherence identical to the adherence of a clean new device and it is then sufficient to press the interior surface (5) of the film (4) against the layer (7) of the first end surface (3) in order for the film (4) to adhere perfectly to the support (2).

When it is desired to replace a film (4) with another film (4), it is necessary to first remove the first film (4), then clean the layer (7) with water and then, after drying the layer (7), it is sufficient to press the interior surface (5) of the film (4) against the layer (7) of the first end surface (3) in order for the film (4) to adhere perfectly to the support (2).

For the first use of the device (1) according to the invention when the device constitutes an accessory enabling adaptation of the principle of renewable adherence by cleaning according to the invention to a sanding or polishing machine presenting a baseplate (20) presenting on its end surface (23) at last one band of loop material (15) or at least one band of hook material (17) of the Velcro type, the band (15, 17) of the second end surface (13) of the support (2) is attached to the band (17, 15) of the end surface (23) of the baseplate (20).

The layer (7) of the device (1) can then be used as previously explained.

The invention is described above as an example. It is understood that the expert in the field would be able to implement different variants of the invention without going beyond the scope of the patent. 

1-15. (cancelled)
 16. A device for sanding or polishing comprising: a support which can be driven in motion having a first end surface against which can be positioned a sanding or polishing film having an interior surface shaped and sized to be positioned against the first end surface and an exterior sanding or polishing surface; and a film holder comprising a layer positioned against the first end surface and enabling renewable adherence by cleaning the layer.
 17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the layer is reactivatable glue.
 18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the reactivatable glue is water-activatable vinyl.
 19. The device according to claim 16, wherein the layer is adherent polymer.
 20. The device according to claim 19, wherein the adherent polymer layer is based essentially on polyurethane.
 21. The device according to claim 16, wherein the support further comprises means for attachment of an edge of the film that creates at least one leading edge of sanding or polishing when the support is driven in motion.
 22. The device according to claim 16, wherein the support is made of a manually deformable material.
 23. The device according to claim 22, wherein the manually deformable material is a mesh of metal wires.
 24. The device according to claim 16, wherein the support has a second end surface opposite the first end surface, the second end surface comprising a layer enabling renewable adherence by cleaning of the layer.
 25. The device according to claim 16, wherein the support has a second end surface opposite the first end surface, the second end surface comprising at least one band of loop material or hook material.
 26. The device according to claim 25, wherein the second end surface comprises a loop material or a hook material over all of its surface.
 27. A sanding machine comprising a device according to claim
 16. 28. The sanding machine according to claim 27, wherein the machine is electrically driven.
 29. A polishing machine comprising a device according to claim
 16. 30. The polishing machine according to claim 27, wherein the machine is electrically driven. 